Farukkhabad / Uttar Pradesh – Salman Khurshid has targeted Narendra Modi once again on the 2002 riots in his Gujarat, questioning a court’s clean chit to him.

“I don’t know who has given Modi a clean chit. A magistrate’s court not summoning him is a big accomplishment for him. It is like a nursery child who gets good marks and thinks he has become a doctor” Mr Khurshid said, asserting that the case was far from over.

Last month, he had been admonished by his party vice president Rahul Gandhi for describing the Gujarat chief Minister as “impotent” for not stopping the riots in his state.

Mr Modi is the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for next month’s general election.

The Congress leader’s comments come days after Rahul Gandhi’s statement dismissing the talk of a clean chit to Mr Modi as “far too premature.” In an interview on Sunday, the Congress vice president also demanded legal accountability for the “clear and inexcusable failure” of governance during the Gujarat riots.

Critics believe Mr Modi, who has governed Gujarat since 2001, didn’t do enough to stop the riots in his state 12 years ago.

A Supreme Court-appointed investigation has found no prosecutable evidence against him, and a trial court last year accepted this. On Tuesday, the clean chit was challenged by Zakia Jafri, the widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed by mobs during the riots.

Mr Khurshid made the controversial comments at his constituency in Farukkhabad in Uttar Pradesh, around six hours from Varanasi, the town where Mr Modi will contest from in next month’s general election.

The union minister’s remarks have drawn criticism.

“The language used by Salman Khurshid is not acceptable. He is the external affairs minister. India has an independent judiciary. When a minister makes comments he should refrain from using such language to comment upon verdicts of any constitutional body,” said CPI leader D Raja.